Georgetown County, SC is taking a more proactive approach to managing its beaches, advancing an updated Comprehensive Beach Management Plan alongside new long-term monitoring at Litchfield and Garden City. Building on years of CSE planning and engineering, the effort creates a stronger framework for addressing erosion, planning future nourishment, improving storm readiness, and protecting the County’s valuable coastal resources.
From Beach Planning to Long-Term Strategy
CSE has worked with Georgetown County to evaluate future management needs at Litchfield and Garden City, beginning with a 2024 feasibility study examining options for establishing engineered beaches and improving long-term storm protection. That work was followed by CSE’s support of the County’s updated Local Comprehensive Beach Management Plan, which is currently advancing through the state review process.
The updated plan establishes priorities for beach preservation, public access, erosion management, disaster recovery, and future nourishment and inlet management. Importantly, it provides a roadmap for moving from reactive storm response toward a coordinated, long-term strategy—and helps position the County to pursue future state and federal funding opportunities as projects become eligible.
New Monitoring Turns Planning Into Action
Supporting that broader strategy, CSE launched a new long-term beach monitoring program for Litchfield and the Georgetown County portion of Garden City, completing the first round of surveys in July 2026. Detailed beach profiles will track shoreline position and sand-volume changes, quantify erosion and accretion trends, and identify emerging areas of concern.
The monitoring data will support future nourishment planning, permitting, resilience assessments, and storm-damage documentation, while providing a measurable record of how the beaches change over time. Together, the updated management plan and ongoing field monitoring give Georgetown County the tools to make informed decisions, prioritize future investments, and take a more proactive approach to protecting its shoreline.